Short-term Peginterferon-Induced High Functional Cure Rate in Inactive Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Carriers With Low Surface Antigen Levels

摘要

BackgroundNone of the current guidelines recommend antiviral therapy for inactive hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers (IHCs).MethodsIn this real-world, multicenter, nonrandomized study, 32 participants meeting the inclusion criteria were enrolled 1:1 for treatment with peginterferon α-2b or monitoring without treatment based on participant preference. The expected treatment duration was 48 weeks. The primary end point was hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss. The HBV vaccine could be injected after HBsAg loss.ResultsAll patients had HBsAg levels of 20 IU/mL. The mean baseline HBsAg levels were 6.6 IU/mL and 5.8 IU/mL in the treated and untreated groups, respectively. Fifteen (93.8%) participants achieved HBsAg loss, 5 obtained HBsAg seroconversion after undergoing a mean of 19.7 weeks of therapy in the treated group, and no one in the follow-up group achieved HBsAg loss during a mean follow-up time of 12.6 months (P .0001). Generally, the therapy was well tolerated. Nine of 11 individuals who exhibited HBsAg loss benefited from receiving the HBV vaccine.ConclusionsThis study provides justification for further studies of short-course peginterferon α-2b for the functional cure of IHCs with low HBsAg levels. Additionally, HBV vaccine injection is beneficial after interferon-induced HBsAg loss.